Win, Lose, Or Draw?

 So it's off to Ghana today. 

I am off with a very inauspicious start. Last night they predict snow to start in Albuquerque at just the time I am to be picked up by Uber to go to the airport. Knowing Albuquerque and snow, this leads to much angst about whether the ride will show up.

I slept well though and true to the prediction just before 5am the snow starts and it is coming down at a very respectable pace. But my driver arrives and is a bit early. He then stands and watches me schlepp all my bags down to the car (he did not back up into the driveway while the snow covers my bare head. I even had to put the bags in the trunk (no tip for this guy). The roads are really pretty slick but thankfully there are few cars on the road. He drives faster than I think is safe and ends up sliding through a couple of red lights. But thankfully, we get to the airport in good time. 

I get on the plane (the first of three). I am off to Atlanta, then New York City, and finally to Ghana. We are on board and the cockpit announces we will need to be de-iced. We are waiting and waiting but no de-icer. The captain says there is only one and we have to wait for it. It finally gets to us AND IT RUNS OUT OF FLUID! I can hear MUPGT laughing its horse-tailed ass off. We are an hour late. They are finally doing our plane. It is taking a long time. Our plane was out overnight and a heavy layer of ice built up on top of the plane. THEY HAVE RUN OUT OF FLUID AGAIN!

Others in the plane are frantically trying to make changes for the connections they are going to miss. I was supposed to be joining a meeting but that's not going to happen. It is two hours late. The captain (very nice, understanding, but nothing he can do actually) sadly tells us at the three hour mark they are legally required to return to the gate. Our airline asks another if their truck can come and help. SUCCESS. 

It is two and half hours late. We finally takeoff. When we arrive I am at a far end of the airport, about as far away as one can get in gigantic Atlanta airport. I finally make it to where my gate is and go into the airline lounge BECAUSE I STILL HAVE FOUR HOURS WAIT. My layover in Atlanta was originally nearly seven hours. 

So despite all the Pony God with Horns of Travel did, it meant nothing to me. 

And I made the last half of the meeting.